CCI | Family Guy Panel

The Family Guy presentation at Comic-Con International got off to a hilarious start with a sneak peek at the upcoming season of Fox’s animated sitcom, ranging from Stewie driving for the first time to Brian experiencing drug hallucinations to a surprise cameo by The Simpsons.

After the laughter died down, Executive Producer Mark Hentemann introduced the panel, which included creator Seth MacFarlane and stars Alex Borstein, Seth Green and Mike Henry. Hentemann joked that they made a YouTube video asking cast member Mila Kunis to come to the presentation, but she couldn’t make it.

Henry, the voice of Cleveland Brown, Consuela and other characters, was an unannounced late addition to the panel, but made his presence felt with an Amy Winehouse joke that set the tone for the no-holds-barred presentation.

It was revealed that the new season will include guest appearances by Ricky Gervais, Cate Blanchett, Ryan Reynolds, Mark Harmon and Anna Kendrick. MacFarlane said highlights will include Stewie and Brian’s trip back through time to the show’s pilot, “bad animation and all,” and an episode in which Joe Swanson arrests Peter and Quagmire, who suffer the consequences of prison life. The clips also offered a peek at Quagmire hitting on Meg as she turns 18, and Stewie running away from home and living with the fan-favorite Consuela.

Asked by a fan about the possibility of a Family Guy feature film, MacFarlane replied that while he’d had meetings about one, it took The Simpsons about 20 years to make it to the big screen.

Language during the panel was as colorful as you might expect, but the lively discussion came to a screeching halt once Borstein realized there was an interpreter for the deaf present. From there the presentation descended into a hilarious lesson in vulgarity for the deaf, with Borstein and Green clearly relishing the opportunity to learn something new and profane.

The saltier language subsided enough for a young fan to ironically ask whether “there were any taboos that they couldn’t get past the censors.” MacFarlane shared a story about an episode in which Peter ate some quarters, letting the audience know that the potential “slot machine-like sound of coins hitting porcelain” was something that didn’t make the final cut.

Another attendee asked when we might hear Stewie sing again, leading to MacFarlane to respond, in character, with a rendition of Bryan Adams’ “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You,” to the delight of the crowd.

The panel came to a close with Green and Borstein swearing at each other in sign language. Watching the exchange, MacFarlane said, “You just have to let these things play out.”